Beyond Bidding

“We never accompany them because we want them to do due diligence on us,” Kaplan remarks. “I want them to see how we solve each homeowner’s program.”

For example, because storage is a top concern of townhouse and apartment owners, Kaplan asks his clients to measure lineal feet of clothing and count their belts and shoes, so he can design and Streaman can build closets that fit the homeowners’ current items and purchases. Not every client is prepared to be this involved, however, and Kaplan and Streaman have declined such jobs. “We don’t just slap together a closet and hope everything fits,” Streaman says. “That’s not the way Matt designs.”

Kaplan adds: “In every aspect the design truly has to reflect the family and the way they’re going to use the home. At the end of a hard workday, they can’t wait to come home. In fact, when we send future clients to past clients’ homes, the homes are as new as the day they were finished—they’re that house-proud.”

Prospects often sign a contract with the team after returning from the house tour. Kaplan then gives them their “homework”; for example, a kitchen remodel requires responses to 10 pages of questions. “In the beginning, we tell our clients don’t hold back on any of your dreams,” Kaplan says. “Forget about the amount of space you have and the budget. There’s going to be plenty of time to compromise. It’s better to move forward with big things and scale back than have to redesign later.”

After Kaplan, Streaman and their team members go to the home to establish a baseline of existing conditions, take photographs and measurements, as well as receive the clients’ “homework,” Kaplan begins designing with Streaman’s input. “A lot of architects are not savvy when it comes to pricing,” Streaman notes. “While Matt’s designing I’m saying ‘do you know what that costs?’ I bring him into reality.”

In addition, Streaman gets the benefit of watching the design progress, so by the time the plans are done, he’s familiar with them. “I’m not looking at brand-new plans with a bunch of questions in my mind. I’m actually looking at a plan I’ve been looking at for years, and a lot of the questions have been answered along the way.”

Kaplan says the foundation of the team’s success comes from this front-end work. “By the end of our survey, we have to feel like we built that house and now we get to rebuild it. The client has to feel like he is exhausted from this program.”

After an approved design and estimate from the team’s group meeting, Kaplan and Streaman work with the homeowners to guide the estimate to one with which the homeowners are comfortable. “We don’t have to waste time bidding; you could lose a month or more of time,” Kaplan notes. “In renovations, time is extremely critical because owners sell, or they’re paying a mortgage and rent.”

Maintain Relationships

Because some people can’t afford to buy a home and do all their desired renovations at once, Kaplan creates a master plan for every project, so homeowners can phase renovations. “You can always keep a permit open,” Streaman says. “Homeowners know where the mechanicals are in the walls, ceilings and floors; photographs and measurements are taken before surfaces are enclosed for easy additions or changes later.” Because of these master plans, clients tend to call on Kaplan to do additional work when their budgets allow.

If homeowners aren’t sure about hiring Kaplan and Streaman, they typically are convinced after hearing the team’s pitch. “When we first called Matt and Mike, we were open to bidding out the job,” explains one of their recent Park Slope clients. “However, after we got to know them and their work/design philosophy, as well as visited their past projects, we were certain we wanted to hire them. We had a number of long meetings about the budget. Eventually, after Matt and Mike came up with various ways to decrease the cost of materials and work so they met our budget, we hired them without bidding the project.”